Yesterday I wrote about the new global campaign to end rape in conflict, and why it's a winnable goal. Today, it's time to bring home the reasons why we need to put in the required effort. We’ve all got our lives to live and our own pet issues to look after, and it’s easy for those of us in the U.S. to think of “rape in conflict” as a conceptual "Terrible Thing" that happens to those Other (Poor, Brown) People Far Away. But when we tie it in a tidy little “Over There Issue” bow, we totally erase the ways it’s a "Right Here Issue," both in that we’re complicit in it, and, relatedly, that there are things we in the US can uniquely do about it.

Herewith, then, are "Four Ways Rape in Conflict is a Right Here Issue." It’s by no means a complete list—if you’ve got others, please share them in the comments.

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Clooney's doing something about it.

No joke. George Clooney took the pledge. So have Charlize Theron, Alfre Woodard, Clive Owen, and Ashley Judd. You don't want to get on the wrong side of the Cloon, do you?

The International Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict has been growing in support, with over 400 organizations and individuals from around the world joining to stop rape in conflict. Thank you to every single member who has Taken the Pledge and shown their support!

If you have not yet joined, take the lead from these internationally recognized figures who have pledged their support to Stop Rape in Conflict.